The exhaust system of a vehicle typically includes an exhaust pipe, a muffler and a tailpipe which are connected to one another and extend circuitously from the engine compartment to the rear of the vehicle. The exhaust system may also include anti-pollution devices, such as catalytic converters. The exhaust system is mounted to the underside of the vehicle at a plurality of support locations. This mounting of the exhaust system to the vehicle typically has been carried out with a plurality of mounting brackets. A mounting bracket generally includes a first portion that is bolted or welded to a support point on a vehicle and a second portion that is secured to or engages the exhaust system to hold the system at a preferred spaced relationship to the vehicle.
The prior art support brackets have taken many forms. Many such support brackets have included an elongated band having a plurality of apertures therethrough. The bands have been formed from either thin strips of metal or rubber. These bands could either be bolted to a selected support point on the vehicle or could be wrapped around a support point and bolted to itself to define a loop. The opposed end of the band has included a support for attachment to or engagement with the exhaust system component. For example, the supports may be welded directly to the exhaust system component.
Recently, rubber insulators have been developed for use with exhaust system brackets. These insulators are solid rubber members that typically are at least 0.75 inch thick and that are provided with at least one pair of apertures extending therethrough. The apertures are adapted to receive an elongated metallic stud. The stud is provided with an enlarged head that can be forced through an aperture in the insulator, but can not readily be removed therefrom. The opposed end of the stud then is welded to either a support point on the vehicle or the exhaust system component. A further discussion of these insulators and a tool for removing the studs therefrom is included in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 738,765, filed May 29, 1985 and assigned to the assignee of the subject invention.
Although the prior art mounting brackets for exhaust systems have generally performed well, they have provided little flexibility to the exhaust system installer. More particularly, even a brief look at any of the many available exhaust system catalogs shows that the exhaust systems differ from one vehicle to the next and that the typical installer will require a very large inventory of mounting brackets. Even with a large inventory, many speciality situations arise which can not readily be met by the available brackets. In these situations the installer will either have to fabricate a special bracket or modify an existing bracket to suit a particular need.
In view of the above, it is an object of the subject invention to provide a universal bracket for vehicular exhaust systems.
It is another object of the subject invention to provide an efficient exhaust system bracket that can be employed with a mounting stud and rubber insulator previously mounted to a vehicle.
It is an additional object of the subject invention to provide an exhaust system bracket that can be adjusted readily in the longitudinal direction, the lateral direction and the vertical direction and that can be rotated to achieve a desired angular alignment.
Another object of the subject invention is to provide a mounting bracket that does not require special tools to be mounted on a vehicle.